There has been widespread use of tablets since the latter part of the 19th century, and the majority of pharmaceutical dosage forms are marketed as tablets. Tablet popularity as a dosage form among pharmaceutical manufacturers arises from its simplicity, low cost, and the speed of production. Other reasons include stability of drug product, convenience in packaging, shipping, and dispensing. To the patient or consumer, tablets offer convenience of administration, ease of accurate dosage, compactness, portability, blandness of taste, ease of administration, and elegant distinctive appearance.
Fast dissolving and disintegrating tablets (FDTs) have received ever-increasing demand during the last decade, and the field has become a rapidly growing area in the pharmaceutical and supplement industries. Oral drug delivery remains the preferred route for administration of various drugs. Recent developments in the technology have prompted scientists to develop FDTs that improve patient compliance, bioavailability, and convenience. Upon introduction into the mouth, these tablets dissolve or disintegrate mostly in the mouth for easy administration of active pharmaceutical ingredients. FDTs are solid unit dosage forms, which disintegrate or dissolve rapidly in the. FDTs provide an advantage particularly for pediatric and geriatric populations who have difficulty in swallowing conventional tablets and capsules. Notwithstanding this increased attention, there remains a need to provide alternative formulations for formulating FDTs for improved buccal, sublingual, and gastrointestinal absorption and release.